Teachers fight school sponsorship with new manifesto
Companies are pushing their way into the classroom. Teachers from German-speaking countries want to fight back with a manifesto.
As Switzerland Weekend reports in its current issue, a transnational manifesto was recently drafted in Hamburg. Teachers' associations from Switzerland, Germany and Austria gathered to adopt the Hamburg Declaration. United, the teachers from all three countries warn against the ever-increasing sponsorship in schools.
From the point of view of the companies, the times are better than ever for familiarizing future customers with their own brand while they are still at school age: schools are under great pressure to save money - at the same time, the number of students has been increasing again for some time. In addition, the digitalization of teaching demands expensive devices such as tablets. Apple, for example, not only provides iPads and learning apps, but also lures teachers who teach with Apple products with discounts, trips and seminars. Samsung also sponsors tablets, and Microsoft provides free storage.
Children - a grateful advertising audience
Children are a grateful "audience" from a marketing point of view. "Children are not yet able to process advertising rationally and are thus easier to influence," says business psychologist Christian Fichter to Schweiz am Wochenende. Accordingly, companies are eagerly pushing into schools.
The meat association donates a "sausage memory" to kindergartens. Nestlé teaches history lessons about chocolate. Swissnuclear teaches how safe nuclear power is. A brochure from the pharmaceutical company MSD about the first visit to the gynecologist is often used as teaching material because no "official" alternatives exist. (Werbewoche.ch reported). The dairy association Swissmilk organizes the annual Milk Day.
Interdiscount is providing 25,000 high visibility vests for kindergarteners. This is in response to a request from parents' councils, says Martin Koncilja, head of marketing. He cannot understand the criticism of the branding - after all, TCS has been distributing similar vests for years.
Binding rules required
Teachers want to defend themselves against the increase in logos and product placement in schools with the Hamburg Declaration. They are calling for uniform, binding rules for sponsorship in schools. And clear structures from the cantons.
There is a reason for the call for commitment. After all, the new manifesto is not the first attempt to put a stop to the rampant sponsorship proliferation in schools. Last winter, the teachers presented a 52-page guideline that showed the right way to handle sponsoring. The associated code has been signed by companies such as Swisscom, Swiss Post, Samsung and Microsoft. However, it is voluntary. And so far, only a few cantons have issued official guidelines.
The united stance of the DACH teachers should now lend weight to the demand for clear and binding rules. (hae)
Image: Photo schoolgirl: PublicDomainPictures, Collage: Advertising Week.
